FYI: How this works
First off, by the schedule of convention events and the fact that I lose an hour of morning blogging time (Central vs. Eastern) I’m unlikely to be posting in this space from August 19-23. I am a delegate from North Carolina to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
I attended the 2012 convention in Charlotte on a press pass. This year’s experience will be very different. Before President Joe Biden dropped out, I’d expected to be an extra at a four-day infomercial. This feels much more monumental.
For you who’ve ever thought about being a national convention delegate, a few things I’ve picked up.
Becoming a delegate: Every cycle, random callers tell us they’d like to be convention delegates. Doesn’t that sound like fun? They have no clue how this works. Delegates pledged to a candidate and vetted by the campaign(s) are elected by Democrats active in your congressional district. Or you must be an elected official or party insider to win a delegate slot. I am one of five pledged delegates elected from my district. Others are elected at large at state conventions. Party Leaders or Elected Officials (PLEOs) also secure a certain number of slots. And of course DNC members attend.
Caveat: In 2016, Bernie Sanders won my district in the primary. Delegates are gender-balanced and there are diversity targets. The female party regulars who’d signed up to be delegates were mostly pledged to Hillary Clinton. When Sanders unexpectedly won the district, two women (one from my precinct who I’d never heard of) who had signed up pledged to Sanders won slots without facing an election. They won them by default. No others had applied. A fluke, they they vanished from the scene quickly after the convention.
Costs are your own: Travel and lodging could run as much as $5,000 depending on where the convention is, your assigned hotel’s rates, and where you’re coming from. Does this make convention-going a more elite exercise and less of an inclusive one? Yup. Some younger delegates have to raise cash from family, friends, and supporters. Saving on a cheap hotel remote from the center of the action is a nonstarter. Delegates (and press) get a new set of credentials each day, and those are issued to delegates early each morning at the delegation’s hotel. By my experience in Charlotte, food and drink are free and plentiful, especially after hours at side events sponsored by allied groups. Not a large expense.
Speaking of elites: Costs alone make this an elite excursion that limits participation. But a surprising (and off-putting) aspect of this game is how many delegates have made a career of being delegates. A few boast of attending every convention going back 20 years. (Talk about insiders.) Some I’m sure go mostly for the opportunity to rub elbows with celebrities and national political figures, and for the bragging rights. But the air of entitlement that accompanies these boasts leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Guests: First-time delegates ask if they can bring spouses. Sure, but they won’t get into the convention unless they luck into one of the limited, coveted daily guest credentials. Otherwise, they cannot expect to see their partners between 7 a.m. and midnight (except for an afternoon change of clothes). You’ve seen the contests in your email. Sign up to win guest passes to the convention, all expenses paid. Good luck.
I’ll probably have more later.
BTW: As a low-rent blogger, I could not be on the floor or view from an elite press box during Granholm’s speech (above). I was at a press work area on a dark mezzanine behind the stage backdrop (w/no wi-fi). I could hear the speech but not see it.
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